TOP STORY
 Seven Days, Seven Ways
Easy ways to cut your energy use, one day at a time -- as seen on the Today show
Cutting your energy use and helping to curb climate change don't have to be daunting prospects, as Grist prez Chip Giller explained yesterday morning on NBC's Today show. He laid out a simple scheme with one easy, energy-saving step for each day of the week. (And of course we've got lots more tips where those came from.)
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NEWS
 Dropping (Fatty) Acid
Organic food healthier than non-organic, research finds
Who woulda thunk: Organic food is healthier than pesticide-ridden food, according to preliminary results of a four-year study funded by the European Union. Researchers found that organic nosh contained more antioxidants (yum!) and fewer fatty acids (ew!) than non-organic. Organic milk was found to have up to 80 percent more antioxidants than conventional cow juice, as well as higher amounts of vitamin E. Organic wheat, tomatoes, cabbage, onions, and lettuce had up to 40 percent more antioxidants than their conventional counterparts, and potatoes, kiwi fruit, and carrots were found to have higher levels of vitamin C. The study -- the largest of its kind to date -- is ongoing, and final results are expected to be published over the next year; the research has yet to be peer-reviewed. Advocates hope the research will sway Britain's Food Standards Agency to change its current advisory that "the balance of current scientific evidence does not support" the contention that organic food is more nutritious than conventional.
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This Rocks!
U.S. House passes groundbreaking mining bill
The U.S. House of Representatives has, in a fit of sanity, voted to make mining companies pay royalties on minerals they dig up on public land. By a vote of 244-166, the House last week approved the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act, which would reform a 135-year-old law that President Ulysses S. Grant signed to encourage development in the West. Unchanged since 1872, it allows mining companies to buy land for as little as $2.50 an acre. The new legislation would also put new environmental controls on mining and set up a cleanup fund. Mine-state lawmakers got a tad dramatic. "This legislation hurts, perhaps even kills, the domestic mining industry and with it the towns and communities in western Nevada and rural America," said Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.). (After all, oil and gas companies have to pay similar royalties, and they're barely scraping by.) The legislation is groundbreaking (ha!), but don't get too excited: The bill faces a tougher battle in the Senate, and the White House has threatened to veto.
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The Weight of Water
U.S. states face water shortages
The catastrophic California wildfires got all the press, but it's worth paying attention to an equally intimidating but slower-moving threat: water shortages. From Georgia to Massachusetts, Florida to New York, the Great Lakes to the West, U.S. states are getting thirstier. In fact, the government predicts that at least 36 states will face challenges from inadequate water supplies within five years, thanks to a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, sprawl, waste, and overuse. "Is it a crisis? If we don't do some decent water planning, it could be," says Jack Hoffbuhr of the American Water Works Association. Officials hope that measures such as water recycling, efficiency, and desalination will save the day. In the meanwhile, local officials are tightening their grasp on any available supplies, and debates over how to address the problem are simmering.
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And It Came to Pass
America's Climate Security Act passes first legislative hurdle
A climate bill that would require mandatory cuts to U.S. carbon emissions has passed its first legislative hurdle, successfully enduring a hearing of a congressional subcommittee. America's Climate Security Act made it through the Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection (or, as we say around the office, SubPSCSGWWP) on a 4-3 vote. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who tried to spice up the bill with more environmentally friendly provisions at the hearing, ultimately voted against its passage due to, among other things, its relatively weak targets for reducing emissions: reductions of up to 19 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 63 percent cuts by 2050. But despite its weaknesses, some green groups talked up the bill's significance in the hopes that as it navigates the legislative process, it'll get tougher on climate change and coddle polluting industries less. The SubPSCSGWWP vote means the bill will soon be debated by the full Environment and Public Works Committee. Committee Chair Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has said she will press for a vote before the end of the year.
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A Tip of the ICAP
New partnership hopes to jumpstart global carbon market
A whole slew of countries and states have signed on to a new International Carbon Action Partnership, with a goal of sharing knowledge about and standardizing best practices for what they hope will become a global cap-and-trade system. Participants include members of the Western Climate Initiative and Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, as well as various European countries and New Zealand. "By working together we can make our shared vision of a global carbon market a reality," said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Added California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Just because you don't see Washington leading on this issue don't assume that America is shirking its responsibilities." Zing!
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What Is This Feeling We're Feeling?
U.S. mayors hit Seattle to plot climate strategy and get a dose of hope
More than 100 mayors from across the U.S. gathered in Seattle late last week to share lessons from their efforts to address climate change, producing the world's first climate conference that didn't lead to a spike in Prozac sales. Perhaps it was the uncharacteristic sunshine in the Emerald City, but mayors could barely contain their excitement about the vistas that had opened up when they stopped viewing climate change as, in Bill Clinton's words, "castor oil," and instead starting seeing it as an unprecedented opportunity to make their cities cleaner, greener, and more economically vibrant. While they were there, mayors heard from Al Gore (by satellite), Clinton, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Clinton announced that his Clinton Climate Initiative partnership with big cities to create a buying pool for green and energy-efficient products would be expanded to more cities. Bloomberg came out strong for a carbon tax in a bold national policy speech that (re-)sparked rumors of a presidential bid. Fun and hope were had by all.
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 Action Pact
Public hits the streets to rally for global-warming action
Speaking of this strange "hope" thing, Saturday's Step It Up 2 rallies brought out thousands of Americans across the U.S. who called for action against climate change. Following up on the first Step It Up rallies in April, this latest round of activism spurred some 1,000 gatherings in all 50 states. From gorilla-suited speakers in San Francisco to presidential candidate John Edwards keynoting in New Orleans, citizens came together to urge creation of more "green-collar" jobs, a moratorium on new coal plants, and an 80 percent reduction of U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050. Meanwhile, 5,500 enthusiastic high-school and college students gathered for an all-weekend Power Shift climate conference in Maryland, and yesterday trekked en masse to Capitol Hill for a day of global-warming lobbying.
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Read more news ...
GRIST COLUMNS AND FEATURES
Local Motion
Green career tips for locavores
Enviros all over are taking the "think globally, act locally" message to heart, choosing to seek out local food supplies. But they're not stopping there; "locavores" are also hitting the job market, searching for green careers right in their own communities. Eco-job expert Kevin Doyle reports on this trend and offers strategic tips for job-hunting near home. And hey, speaking of job-hunting near home, you can now job hunt from home via the Grist website. We're hosting our own jobs board, giving you direct access to socially and environmentally conscious employers with progressive, green-leaning job opportunities. The good news: You can find a rewarding job that fits your eco-values. The bad news: You've got no more excuses -- so hop to it!
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 Howdy Rudy
A look at Rudy Giuliani's environmental platform and record
Do you know where Rudy Giuliani stands on green issues? Neither do most other smart folks. The former New York City mayor and now front-running Republican presidential candidate doesn't talk much about the environment. He likes to bring up the importance of energy independence, which he ties to national security, but he doesn't connect the dots as to what it might mean for climate change. So we've dug through his speeches, his platform, his record, and his garbage can to bring you the lowdown on Giuliani's environmental stances. Well, OK, not really his garbage can.
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 Strip Tease
On power strips
Q. Hi Umbra,
Around the table at lunch today, my colleagues and I were discussing ways to conserve and be more energy efficient ... If our TV, stereo, space heater, and cell phone chargers are plugged into a power strip, how much electricity is the power strip drawing (even if it has been flipped off)? Do we have to unplug the power strip too?
Lily Lewison
Seattle, Wash.
A. Dearest Lily,
No, no, the power strip is there to save us from the arduous unplugging. In fact, I believe this labor-saving device is completely responsible for ...
Read the rest of Umbra's answer.
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 Botched Alaska
An unseasonably warm night and a doomed-to-melt dessert
What do oil spills, climate change, and meringue have in common? They all converged recently in the kitchen of Roz Cummins, whose attempt to make her patented Baked Alaska met with more than a few hitches. Still, she pulled it off, and offers some tips for the rest of us -- as well as a recipe for a vegan pumpkin cake that puts the perfect seasonal spin on this elegant dessert.
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